PRACTICE RUN BEFORE EUROPEAN GAMES

The judo Grand Prix in Turkey has partially revived the image of Azerbaijani sportsmen, who have had a run of bad results since the beginning of 2015. Haciaga Haciahmadov's trainees won three medals at the tournament in Samsun.

Altogether the Azerbaijani judo team consisted of 12 sportsmen at the Grand Prix. Orhan Safarov won the first medal, performing in the weight category up to 60-kg. On his run-up to the finals he beat sportsmen from Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan. In the main bout O. Safarov lost to another Uzbek sportsman and had to be satisfied with a silver medal. But, on the whole, O. Safarov's performance may be assessed positively, although it was his own fault that he lost the final bout.

On the second day of the competitions Rustam Orucev pleased his coaches. Performing in the category up to 73-kg, the judoka did not give his rivals any chances. R. Orucev's bout in the final round with the Turkish judoka Hasan Vanlioglu was a tough one. There was no winner in the allocated time, but in the extra time Orucev beat his opponent and won the first "gold" for the team.

On the last day of the Grand Prix, Elmar Qasimov (up to 100 kg) won the second "gold" for the team. By doing this, the world junior champion did as it were compensate for his erratic performance over the last few years. On his way to the finals he was victorious over Serbian, Turkish, Iranian and Russian judokas, but in the final bout he beat a judoka from Germany.

So, in the Grand Prix in Turkey the team won two gold and one silver medal. In the team scores Haciaga Haciahmadov's trainees came second out of 67 countries, second only to Holland. Besides this, O. Safarov, R. Orucev and E. Qasimov increased their scores in the ratings. All three sportsmen were among the top three in their weight categories, and it can already be said that their scores are sufficient for them to be granted licences to perform at the summer Olympics in 2016. According to the selection rules for the summer Olympics, sportsmen gaining a place among the first 22 in the overall world ratings in the individual weight categories can take part in the Olympics. There is no way that the above-mentioned Azerbaijani judokas can drop off that list, even if they do not take part in any tournaments before the Olympics.

The same may be said of our only judo world champion, Elxan Mammadov. He ranks fifth in the ratings for his weight category (100 kg) and has also guaranteed himself the right to enter the Olympics. He did not take part in the Grand Prix owing to an injury received during the tournament in Tbilisi. In a conversation with Regionplus E. Mammadov noted that he has to make sure that he is fit for the First European Games in Baku. "In Samsun the team performed very well. Unfortunately, I couldn't join them. I received a rib injury during the tournament in Tbilisi. There was even a risk that I wouldn't be able to take part in the European Games. But I have carefully followed the doctors' orders and am making sure that I don't overdo things. In two to three weeks' time I shall start restorative training. The main aim is to achieve optimal form before the European Games," E. Mammadov said.

Rustam Orucev who won the "gold" in Samsun also made the top step on the pedestal in the tournament in Tbilisi, two weeks prior to that. This achievement moved him up into second place in the world ratings in the weight category up to 73 kg. "I'm not thinking about the Olympics at the moment. Although the talk about me winning the right to enter them is of course true. We have the European Games, the world championship and the tournament in the "World Masters" series ahead of us. I want to win in all those tournaments and am working flat out to achieve that," R. Orucev said.

Chief coach Haciaga Haciahmadov also assessed the Azerbaijani team's performance positively, after noting that it was too early to talk about Olympic licences. "Rustam Orucev, Elmar Qasimov and Orxan Safarov have shown that they are the leaders in the team. Safarov ought to have taken the "gold" too, but his overconfident attitude in the finals cost him dear. Sportsmen should go through the entire tournament on their first wind. One can only calmly take a breath when all the bouts have been completed. If Elxan Mammadov had not been suffering from an injury, we would have won more medals in Samsun," the chief coach told Regionplus.

He also noted that there were sportsmen who have given disappointing performances: "The fact that out of the 12 sportsmen only three won medals is normal. For many this tournament was like a test. They cannot all win medals."

The chief coach also thought that it was premature to discuss Olympic licences. "That can also cause psychological problems. At the present time, four of our judokas have fairly good ratings. But we are thinking about a large number of licences, because the team does have potential. There are a few more judokas who might manage to get ranked in the first 22 sportsmen. At the moment, the main aim is to prepare for the European Games. Everyone in our team wants to perform successfully at the European Games in Baku. The entire team should be represented at that competition. There are judokas suffering from injuries but they should have recovered before June. E. Mammadov's injury worries us most of all. The doctors are predicting that he will start training in May. We have two tournaments and several training sessions ahead of us," Haciaga Haciahmadov said.

At the moment the Azerbaijani sportsmen are primarily looking forward to the European championship taking place in England as a personal and a team test.